MeinMMO has conducted an interview with the Creative Director of Dead by Daylight – after all, a real horror classic is coming into play with Ringu.
In Dead by Daylight, the release of the latest chapter “Sadako Rising” is imminent, which implements the Ringu franchise into Dead by Daylight – a true Japanese horror classic is thus entering the world of the Entity.
We at MeinMMO had the opportunity to conduct an interview with the Creative Director of Dead by Daylight, Dave Richard, on this occasion.
In the interview, much was discussed about the new killer Onryō, but also about criticism from the community and the question of whether it is not becoming increasingly difficult to create new killers and perks. Have fun with it.
MeinMMO: You have worked on several major horror franchises, such as Halloween and Stranger Things. Now, the Japanese horror classic Ringu will also be a part of Dead by Daylight. Can you explain how the cooperation with the franchise owner went? How much freedom does the DbD team have when working with characters like Sadako or Yoichi, in terms of story or powers of the characters?
Dave Richard: Adapting Ringu has been a big dream of ours for quite some time. We are excited to be able to work with the Japanese entertainment giant Kadokawa to bring this iconic franchise into our world.
When we integrate existing franchises, our goal is to implement the original characters in a way that respects the source material as much as possible while giving them the “Dead by Daylight touch” so that they fit perfectly into our game.
Throughout every step of this process, Kadokawa has ensured that we represent Japanese culture as accurately as possible. For example, with Sadako, we’ve adopted the way she stands and moves, the position of her arms, and so on – this is a bit different from what fans might know from the American adaptation of Ringu. In summary, we can say we were guided through the entire creation process while also having a lot of freedom.
When Dead by Daylight brings new characters from existing franchises, it usually takes them from the time of the films, but Yoichi has aged and several years have passed. This seems to be the first time this is happening in Dead by Daylight. Why are you doing this now?
Yes, you are right! Yoichi is the first licensed character for whom we’ve been given the freedom to develop his backstory and appearance.
Yoichi is the only character in all adaptations of the Ringu franchise who survived the torture by Sadako. Therefore, Yoichi was an obvious survivor for us and he offered us a pretty interesting path that we could explore. In addition, due to the nature of our game, we decided that all our survivors must be adults.
A lot of the inspiration you find in Yoichi’s backstory and traits – even his appearance – is either based on or at least inspired by his father and mother. Therefore, the survivor you see in our game is in a certain way a mix of three characters.
Ringu is a Japanese horror franchise. In Europe, most people probably know the horror film “The Ring”, which is an American remake of the original Japanese film – the original “Ringu”. The story revolves around a video that kills its viewers within 7 days.
The cursed girl, Sadako, whose face is usually covered with hair, is someone most people have likely heard of at some point.
This means that Dead by Daylight not only takes well-established characters but also adds story and shows new things that Ringu fans cannot get anywhere else. This not only expands a well-known horror franchise in terms of story but also in a new medium like a video game. How does it feel to be able to work on something like this? Is it a burden? A wonderful opportunity? A bit of both?
The fact that Kadokawa has allowed us to publish new story for these characters within a video game speaks clearly to the importance of this medium in today’s world and we feel honored by their trust.
I wouldn’t say that working on a big franchise is a burden, but the bigger the franchise, the higher the expectation from fans regarding quality, and so we need to make sure that we deliver something of the highest possible quality.
Can we expect to also get a book about Sadako and Yoichi, which will reveal even more story for both?
It’s still very early to say, but nothing is impossible! We released our first book, inspired by a licensed character, in January with SAW, and our fans were thrilled! We have definitely noted this enthusiasm.
In the last few years, Dead by Daylight has received many more story elements, especially through the Archive and sometimes through special events, like the “Hallowed Blight” event. Are there plans to further expand the story in the game, or will tomes remain the primary source for story in the foreseeable future?
We love letting the Dead by Daylight universe slowly progress and expand with each chapter and tome. From our early beginnings, where the story was mainly told through little snippets of add-ons and perks, we can now take the time and space to delve deeper into the characters through the Archive. Expanding the DbD universe is a core part of our game, and even though I can’t announce any fantastic new features today, it’s our goal to expand the universe through the tools we have today and maybe through some others in the future.
Many players like the Onryō, but there is also criticism of her powers. For some players, she feels like a mix of various existing killers:
– Stealth like the Spirit
– Teleportations like Freddy or the Demogorgon
– Phase distortion like the Ghost
– Alternative killing method with buildup, like Pyramid Head or The Pig
Do you agree with these people? Or do you think she is clearly different from other killers?
If I may allow myself a culinary analogy here, the same ingredients can be used to create many highly different dishes. It is true that the Onryō may appear similar to other killers at first glance. But upon closer examination, you’ll see that her ‘ghost world’ abilities do not look or function like the Spirit’s stealth, that reacting to and using her television manifestations is completely different from the teleports of the Nightmare, or that her method of curse buildup is unique compared to other killers.
We can talk about similar mechanics, like how the Trapper and the Witch both use trap mechanics, but still play very differently. In summary, we believe that the gameplay as and against the Onryō represents a new experience.
The game is approaching the milestone of 30 killers – will it be more difficult to come up with new and unique powers or perks?
It won’t necessarily be more difficult, but yes, the gameplay space is a finite thing. However, we are still very far from having exhausted all possibilities. There are still many ways we can provide fans with more gameplay options. For example, adding the concept of blessing totems or scourge hooks allowed us to create new opportunities. Players who have been with us for a while know that we occasionally introduce new mechanics and thus new gameplay space, along with related powers and perks.
How much time passes between the first “Yes, we are doing Sadako” and the final design of her power?
Several months pass between the first decision to integrate a licensed universe into the game and the release. However, this really depends on the respective license; these are all unique stories. The actual development from pre-production to release typically takes three to five months, depending on the project.
While tomes are a good way to continue bringing story content for players who play the game for months or years, the amount of tomes is becoming overwhelming for new players or players with less time. These players struggle to even complete the current tome that grants cosmetic rewards, and so they never get around to tackling older tomes if they don’t want to miss out on rewards. The result is that these players never get to see and hear the older stories or they simply watch them on YouTube. Are there plans to make older tomes easier to complete so that one can tackle, for example, a current quest and one from an older book simultaneously?
The positive aspect of a live game is that we can adapt. Whether we’re talking about the situation you mentioned or a character that’s too strong or too weak, we are flexible to a certain degree. So when we reach a point where we believe certain content or processes are no longer adequate, we will rethink our approach. Our top goal is that our players have fun. If anything is particularly annoying, we’ll see if we can fix it.
The Onryō and the Spirit meet in the fog. Best killer friends or bitter rivals?
Haha, excellent question! Maybe we should ask the players?
When does the chapter release? The new chapter “Sadako Rising” will be released on Tuesday, March 8. From then on, you can drive your survivors into the curse as Sadako or try to escape the Onryō once again with Yoichi.
Are you looking forward to Sadako as the “Ringu killer”?
